3. Sony Cyber-shot RX100

Sony’s $649.99 camera looks handsome and fits in your pocket. Nothing remarkable about that. But the pictures it takes are exceptional: Sony stuffed a one-inch sensor inside the RX100’s trim case, letting it take much, much nicer snapshots than even better-than-average point-and-shoot cameras. If you want to take photos with a bokeh effect — a razor-sharp subject in front of a pleasingly blurred background — and don’t want to deal with a bulky digital SLR or Micro Four-Thirds camera, this is the model you want. Low-light performance is also outstanding.